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As many of you know I dislike the whole Aebersold concept of assigning a so-called "mode" to each chord of a sequence. e.g. Dm7 = dorian, G7 = mixolydian etc...
So when setting out a course in learning to improvise in a better and more intuitive/musical way I found it really useful to start really simply, and think of tunes that just have two chords,
Chord One I and chord V (7) or tonic and dominant. For now, ignore the 7 - that comes later.
Now then, following on from this post, I want to demonstrate what I mean and how it really is very simple:
So take the two-chord tune Jambalaya in C concert pitch (D on tenor, A on alto). Lets think about a few basic things.
The key is C major so the only scale we need is CDEFGAB. Don't worry about chords for now.
Alto = A major, tenor = D major
Try playing along with the backing track. (1) We just noodle around on the C major (concert pitch) scale. We don't need to think about chords yet (yay!), but (2) - with any luck - your ear will tell you when the chords change from one to the other and your ear may also guide you into playing certain notes of the scale. Many great musicians go through life doing exactly that.
However if you find your ear isn't immediately guiding you like that it's no problem, your noodling will still sound OK and as you do it more and more, (2) will definitely kick in and you are improvising around chord changes without knowing a scrap of theory apart from the C major scale.
How are these chords derived? Well we need to number the notes of the scale. So we need the ability to count up to 7.
First of all learn this:
A very basic chord uses notes 1, 3, and 5.
So looking at the above we see a C chord is made from the C note of the scale and then the 3rd and 5th note above
C D E F G A B C D etc...
Likewise the G chord is based off the note G, plus the 3rd and 5th above it.
C D E F G A B C D
So to understand the notes and sounds of the chords, just play those two chords as arpeggios (ie one note after the other). (NB: In a band, the guitarist or keyboard can play the three notes at once. You can't do that but you can outline the chords by playing them as arpeggios, one after the other.
You are now armed to take a more theoretical approach - and although it is surprisingly simple - this is the process that many many great improvisers do.
So let's put that backing track on and try two things separately, then put them together
Before playing anything, just listen (with or without looking at a chord sheet) and see if you can hear when the chord changes from C to G7 and back to C. What you should aim to listen for is how the C starts and finishes, with a G in the middle. So think of taking a walk. C means you are at home. G means you've gone for a walk, and then go back home to C.
But don't worry yet, because you can count bars, and know from the chord symbols that the chords are 2 bars of C, 4 of G and 2 of C. It is actually easier to think in the melody phrases, so instead of 2 - 4 - 2 it would be :
(again don't worry for now that it says G (7) - that comes in the next stage)
All you need to try now is the same as level 1, ie playing around with notes of the C scale, but try emphasis the chord notes. You can do this by repeating them, putting them on strong beats or just simply only play the chord notes.
In fact, it could work best to start off just playing the chord notes. This will basically be the same as playing a bass line. Here is an example (C concert pitch)
Backing track: https://cafesaxophone.com/x-audio/JambaShorter.mp3
A = A C# E
E = E G# B
D = D F# A
A = A C# E
Part 2 to come (adding the 7 to G7 and why)
So when setting out a course in learning to improvise in a better and more intuitive/musical way I found it really useful to start really simply, and think of tunes that just have two chords,
Chord One I and chord V (7) or tonic and dominant. For now, ignore the 7 - that comes later.
Now then, following on from this post, I want to demonstrate what I mean and how it really is very simple:
So take the two-chord tune Jambalaya in C concert pitch (D on tenor, A on alto). Lets think about a few basic things.
Level 1: Very very simple
The key is C major so the only scale we need is CDEFGAB. Don't worry about chords for now.
Alto = A major, tenor = D major
Try playing along with the backing track. (1) We just noodle around on the C major (concert pitch) scale. We don't need to think about chords yet (yay!), but (2) - with any luck - your ear will tell you when the chords change from one to the other and your ear may also guide you into playing certain notes of the scale. Many great musicians go through life doing exactly that.
However if you find your ear isn't immediately guiding you like that it's no problem, your noodling will still sound OK and as you do it more and more, (2) will definitely kick in and you are improvising around chord changes without knowing a scrap of theory apart from the C major scale.
Next level: slightly more complex but still easy: learning some chords.
- The key is C so the only scale we need is CDEFGAB.
- There are two chords
- Chord one (I) is C = C E G.
- Chord five (V) is G = G B D
How are these chords derived? Well we need to number the notes of the scale. So we need the ability to count up to 7.
First of all learn this:
| C | D | E | F | G | A | B |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
A very basic chord uses notes 1, 3, and 5.
So looking at the above we see a C chord is made from the C note of the scale and then the 3rd and 5th note above
C D E F G A B C D etc...
Likewise the G chord is based off the note G, plus the 3rd and 5th above it.
C D E F G A B C D
So to understand the notes and sounds of the chords, just play those two chords as arpeggios (ie one note after the other). (NB: In a band, the guitarist or keyboard can play the three notes at once. You can't do that but you can outline the chords by playing them as arpeggios, one after the other.
You are now armed to take a more theoretical approach - and although it is surprisingly simple - this is the process that many many great improvisers do.
So let's put that backing track on and try two things separately, then put them together
Before playing anything, just listen (with or without looking at a chord sheet) and see if you can hear when the chord changes from C to G7 and back to C. What you should aim to listen for is how the C starts and finishes, with a G in the middle. So think of taking a walk. C means you are at home. G means you've gone for a walk, and then go back home to C.
But don't worry yet, because you can count bars, and know from the chord symbols that the chords are 2 bars of C, 4 of G and 2 of C. It is actually easier to think in the melody phrases, so instead of 2 - 4 - 2 it would be :
- 2 bars of C and 2 bars of G followed by
- 2 bars of G and 2 bars of C
| C | C | G (7) |
| ||
|
| C | C |
(again don't worry for now that it says G (7) - that comes in the next stage)
Putting level 2 theory into practice
All you need to try now is the same as level 1, ie playing around with notes of the C scale, but try emphasis the chord notes. You can do this by repeating them, putting them on strong beats or just simply only play the chord notes.
In fact, it could work best to start off just playing the chord notes. This will basically be the same as playing a bass line. Here is an example (C concert pitch)
Backing track: https://cafesaxophone.com/x-audio/JambaShorter.mp3
A = A C# E
E = E G# B
D = D F# A
A = A C# E
Part 2 to come (adding the 7 to G7 and why)
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